MUSSCHENBROEK (Peter)

, a very distinguished natural philosopher and mathematician, was born at Utrecht a little before 1700. He was first professor of these sciences in his own university, and afterwards invited to the chair at Leyden, where he died full of reputation and honours in 1761. He was a member of several academies, particularly the Acade- my of Sciences at Paris. He published several works in Latin, all of them shewing his great penetration and accuracy. As,

1. His Elements of Physico-Mathematics, in 1726.

2. Elements of Physics, in 1736.

3. Institutions of Physics; containing an abridgment of the new discoveries made by the Moderns; in 1748.

4. Introduction to Natural Philosophy; which he began to print in 1760; and which was completed and published at Leyden, in 1762, by M. Lulofs, after the death of the author. It was translated into French by M. Sigaud de la Fond, and published at Paris in 1769, in 3 vols 4to; under the title of A Course of Experimental and Mathematical Physics.

He had also several papers, chiefly on meteorology, printed in the volumes of Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences, viz, in those of the years 1734, 1735, 1736, 1753, 1756, and 1760.